News bits: Tina Turner

Tina Turner died. She was 83. Total bummer. 

1973

This woman was alive

1990

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A NYT opinion opines on controlling plastic in oceans. The bottom lines are (1) international cooperation will be needed, and (2) as long as brass knuckles Republicans retain enough power in the federal government, the US will not cooperate with anyone and will continue to pollute as usual. The article opines:

As the world’s population expands and more people rise out of poverty and into more consumer-oriented lifestyles, demand for plastic-packaged goods will inevitably grow. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development predicts plastic use will nearly triple by 2060 at the current rate, with most of the growth occurring outside Europe and the United States. Economist Impact and the Nippon Foundation’s Back to Blue Initiative modeled policy scenarios for reducing plastic production by 2050 — none of them resulted in a production rate lower than what we see today.

America's Republican Party. Pro-pollution, fascist, anti-civil liberties, anti-democracy.

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House Democrats obliterate a needed pro-democracy norm: We live in a time when adults who act like spoiled, less than average intelligence children are in power and pushing the country into American fascism. The Hill writes:

Democrats erupt in laughter after Greene calls for decorum in House

Democrats erupted in laughter on the House floor Wednesday when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — who was presiding over the chamber — called for decorum.

The heckling came as House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) was delivering floor remarks about the debt ceiling, which has been the subject of high-stakes negotiations between GOP lawmakers and the White House.

As Scalise was urging the Senate and White House to take action on raising the borrowing limit — referencing the bill House Republicans passed last month — a lawmaker yelled out in the chamber.

“We are in fact the only body in this town who has actually taken steps to address the debt ceiling and the spending problem in Washington. I would encourage the Senate to take up the bill, I would encourage the president to get engaged and address this problem, but we already have, the votes are on the board —” Scalise said before pausing to react to the yelling.

It is unclear which lawmaker shouted and what they said.

“Order,” Greene said from the dais, pounding her gavel.

“I ask that the House be in order and there be some decorum on the other side,” Scalise said.

After a roughly 15-second pause, Greene called for decorum in the chamber.

“The members are reminded to abide by decorum of the House,” she said.

Democrats in the chamber then erupted in laughter. Some members — including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.) — stood from their seats and started shouting.

Republicans must have loved that. They won't forget this. In the unlikely event that the Dems ever regain control of the House, Republicans being the spoiled rotten adult-children they are will do the same at times and circumstances of their choosing. The Dems should publicly apologize and say they will never do that again. This might lead the House into an occasional (frequent?) shitfest of uncontrolled hate and childish temper tantrum. One thing is for sure, House Republicans won't rise above this because mentally they are not actual adults.

Between explicit Republican Party theocratic fascism and Democratic Party stupid this country is in desperately grave trouble.

This post brought to you by Tina performing Nutbush!